Cursed and Chosen

While most recoil from the unknown, the Blood Hunter stalks it. Those who take up the rite do so knowingly, irreparably altering their body and soul in pursuit of an ideal: vengeance, duty, knowledge, survival. Some were once soldiers; abandoned by cause and comrades alike. Others were scholars or physicians, driven to master forbidden rites when logic failed them. Others still are monsters already, seeking control over their instincts through pain and discipline.

The rituals that make a Blood Hunter vary across the world, alchemical injections, sigils carved beneath the skin, potions of slow-burning ruin, but the result is the same: power through suffering, and the will to wield it.

On the Hunt

No two Blood Hunters are alike. Some operate as cold mercenaries, following coin to the highest bidder. Others function as wandering inquisitors, rooting out corruption and evil wherever it festers. Some serve ancient pacts, bonded to blood-gods or forgotten powers. But all share one thing: they do not wait for evil to come. They hunt it.

Blood Hunters work well in small cells, lone duos, or as specialists within adventuring bands. Where others falter before curse or corruption, the Blood Hunter wades in willingly, already half-monster themselves.

Creating Your Blood Hunter

The rite scars more than flesh. What drove your character to such extremes? What did they lose that could not be recovered, or what truth did they glimpse that drove them to bleed for power? Did they volunteer for the rite—or were they forced into it? Do they see their powers as a gift, a burden, a penance?

Who taught you the way of blood? A secret order? A stranger in the woods? A book you should never have opened? Have you walked the path long enough to forget your former self—or do you still cling to who you once were, desperately hoping you are not lost?

When your blood spills, what rises in its place?

Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d10 per Blood Hunter level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Blood Hunter level after 1st

Proficiencies

• Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
• Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
• Tools: Alchemist’s supplies
• Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
• Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Acrobatics, Arcana, History, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Religion, and Survival

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a martial weapon or (b) two simple weapons
• (a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) four javelins
• (a) studded leather armor or (b) scale mail
• Alchemist’s supplies and an explorer’s pack

If using the starting wealth rule, begin with 5d4 × 10 gp.

Quick Build

You can make a Blood Hunter quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Constitution your highest ability score, followed by Strength or Dexterity. Second, choose the Haunted One background. Finally, take the Versatile Fighting style.

Order of the Abomination

Blood Hunters that subscribe to the Order of the Abomination either care too little or too much about their physical form, utilizing horrible magics to transmute and otherwise mogrify their visage, musculature, or even psyche. The power found in their blood triggers terrible changes through Mutagens in their bloodstream. These abominations bend and twist their form to meet monsters as their peer.

Rapid Mutation

18th-level Order of the Abomination feature

You have gained mastery over your body’s mutability. While you are Mutated, you can use a bonus action to switch one of your active Mutagens for one of your Latent Mutagens.

Bloodthread Weaver

3rd-level Order of the Crimson Loom feature
You learn to stitch your essence to others by threading into their blood. As an action when you touch a creature, or whenever you hit one with a melee weapon attack, you may tether yourself to it with a thread of blood.

While tethered:

• You have advantage on Charisma (Insight) checks against the creature.
• You know the creature’s mood, pain level, and surface intent.
• You gain blindsight out to 30 feet, but only for the tethered creature.

If the creature moves more than 30 feet away from you, it must make a Constitution saving throw against your Rite save DC. On a failed save, the tether yanks violently:

• The creature takes necrotic damage equal to 2 rolls of your Sacrament Die
• It is knocked prone, and the tether is severed.

You can tether to:

• 1 creature at 3rd level
• 2 creatures at 7th level
• 3 creatures at 13th level
• 4 creatures at 18th level

This tether lasts for 10 minutes. You may use this feature once per long rest. You may expend a Blood Sacrament to use it again.

Weaver’s Knack

3rd-level Order of the Crimson Loom feature
You’ve learned to manipulate blood as thread, stitching and unraveling the world—and the people in it—in small, subtle ways.

• You gain proficiency with weaver’s tools, and may use them to perform minor surgical procedures during a short rest.
• When you or another creature regains hit points by spending Hit Dice during a short rest, you may use your tools to cause the creature to regain additional hit points equal to 2 rolls of your Sacrament Die + your Constitution modifier.
  A creature can only benefit from this bonus once per rest.
• Additionally, resurrection magic requires only half the necessary materials to revive you, as when you die, your body unravels into neat strands.

Thread Dance

7th-level Order of the Crimson Loom feature
You move with unnatural grace, tugging at the blood-bound threads that tie you to others. While a creature is tethered to you via Bloodthread Weaver, you gain the following benefits:

• When the creature takes damage from a source other than you, you may use your reaction to pull the thread taut, dealing necrotic damage equal to 1 roll of your Sacrament Die to the tethered creature.
• As a reaction when a tether is severed, you may immediately move up to half your movement without provoking opportunity attacks, as long as it’s in the direction where the tether broke.

Thread of Life

13th-level Order of the Crimson Loom feature
"I live? You live."
You can now tether to willing creatures using your Bloodthread Weaver feature. You choose which effects of Bloodthread Weaver apply to the willing creature.

In addition, your tethers gain the following effects:

• Once per turn when a tethered creature regains hit points, you may also regain hit points equal to your Constitution modifier + the maximum value of your Sacrament Die.
• Whenever you regain hit points, you may divide the healing among any tethered creatures as you see fit. For example, if you regain 20 hit points, you may give 12 to yourself and 8 to a tethered creature.
• As a bonus action, you may pull yourself toward a tethered creature, appearing in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of them.

Bloodthread Nexus

18th-level Order of the Crimson Loom feature
Your mastery over the Loom allows you to create a nexus of bloodthread, dispersing influence between every strand.

• When a tethered creature takes damage from any source, you may use your reaction to redirect half of that damage to another tethered creature.
• The first time that a tethered creature moves more than 15 feet each round, it must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against your Rite save DC or become restrained until the end of its next turn. A creature can only be affected once per round.
• When you deal damage to a tethered creature, you may choose another tethered creature to take equivalent necrotic damage.

The Thirst

3rd-level Order of the Thirst feature

You grow fangs that you can use as natural weapons. When you take the attack action, you may choose attack with your fangs, they have the following traits:

• Fangs are natural weapons that you may make unarmed strikes with. They have a range of 5 feet, and you can use your Crimson Coating with them.
• Fangs 1d6 piercing or necrotic damage (your choice at the time of making the attack)
• Fangs count as weapons for the sake of Crimson Coating
• Also, you can make a special attack with your fangs a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier. The attack deals a number of d6s equal to your proficiency bonus of piercing or necrotic damage. You regain hit points equal to the total damage dealt with this attack.

You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier. Regaining uses on completion of Long Rest.

Sanguine Instinct

3rd-level Order of the Thirst feature

As an action, you can focus on the presence of blood around you for 1 minute. For the duration, you gain the following benefits:

• You can sense the presence of living creatures within 60 feet of you, even through total cover or while they are invisible, so long as they have blood.
• You know their approximate location and form.
• If you have attacked the creature with your Fangs in the last year, you also know its identity.

Blood Zealot

7th-level Order of the Thirst feature

When you deal damage to a creature with a weapon attack while under the effects of Crimson Coating, you may choose to gain temporary hit points equal to half the damage dealt (minimum of 1).

Additionally, you may choose for your Crimson Coating to deal necrotic damage instead of its normal type.

Blood Thrall

13th-level Order of the Thirst feature

When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points and don’t kill it outright, you may immediately make an attack against it with your Fangs. The creature must succeed on a Constitution or Wisdom saving throw (its choice) against your Rite save DC, or suffer the following:

• The creature is restored to consciousness with hit points equal to your own current total.
• It is charmed by you and becomes your Blood Thrall.
• The Blood Thrall regards you as a close companion and will not harm you unless magically compelled.
• Fang attacks made against the Blood Thrall automatically hit and do not break the charm.
• Each time the Blood Thrall is hit by a Fang attack, it gains 2 points of exhaustion. These exhaustion points cannot be removed by any means while it remains your Thrall.
• The Blood Thrall cannot regain spell slots.
• You always know its precise location and current activity.

Additionally, if you have a Blood Thrall active, you can summon them to your location if you have a corpse killed within the last week and perform a Blood Sacrament, you may summon your Blood Thrall in the corpse’s space

Your Blood Thrall is charmed by you for 30 days, after which it may remake the Wisdom of Constitution saving throw to break the charm.

A creature that was your Blood Thrall previously cannot be made your Blood Thrall again unless under the light of a full moon.

You may use this feature once per long rest.

Bloodborne Ascension

18th-level Order of the Thirst feature

Your blood magic reaches its peak, allowing you to transcend mortal limits. As an action, you may perform a Blood Sacrament to ascend for 1 minute, gaining the following benefits:

• Advantage on all attack rolls against creatures with blood.
• A fly speed equal to your walking speed.
• The ability to speak with animals.
• You may make one additional attack whenever you take the Attack action.

Harrowbrand

3rd-level Order of the Harrowed feature

You’ve been branded, embracing the sacred agony of your path, and through pain – purpose. When you perform a blood sacrament, you enter a state of divine torment until the end of your next turn. While in this state:

• You have advantage on your next weapon attack roll.
• Creatures of your choice within 5 feet of you when you perform the Blood Sacrament cannot regain hit points until the end of your next turn.
• The space you occupy becomes desecrated in blood. For creatures of your choice, the space is considered difficult terrain, and the first time a creature moves into or starts its turn in that space, it has disadvantage on the first saving throw it makes.

Blood Communion

3rd-level Order of the Harrowed feature

Blessing through agony, your blood carries divine resonance. When you perform a Blood Sacrament, you may offer a drop of your blood to another creature or vessel. When a creature drinks your blood willingly, one of the following effects is bestowed:

• Blessing of Endurance. The creature gains temporary hit points equal to your Constitution modifier plus the size of your Blood Sacrament die.
• Shared Vision. You and the creature can magically transmit simple messages and images between one another.
• Painbound. You and the creature may add your Blood Sacrament die to the next saving throw made in the next hour. This benefit ends early for both if one of you is reduced to 0 hit points.

Purifying Agony

7th-level Order of the Harrowed feature

Divine torment cleanses both mind and body. When you start your turn while suffering from the charmed, frightened, stunned, paralyzed, or poisoned condition, you may immediately perform a Blood Sacrament. This does not require a bonus action to do so.

When you do, you may ignore the triggering condition until the end of your turn. The condition then resumes as normal. If the condition would end at the end of your turn, it ends as usual.

Blood Rejoices

13th-level Order of the Harrowed feature

Wounds are not weakness, they are scripture. When you take damage, it counts as if you were performing a Blood Sacrament.

Once you use this feature, you may not use it again until the start of your next turn.

Icon of Agony

18th-level Order of the Harrowed feature
You are not merely a martyr, you are a walking altar of torment. While you are below half your maximum hit points:

• Performing a Blood Sacrament deals no damage to you, and your maximum hit points are unaffected.
• The first time you drop to 0 hit points, you may instead drop to 1 and immediately activate Harrowbrand.

RITE OF AGONY

As a bonus action, you invoke this Rite and force one creature that you can see within 30 feet to make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, it has disadvantage on Strength and Dexterity ability checks and saving throws, and each time it makes an attack it takes necrotic damage equal to one roll of your Sacrament die. These effects end at the end of your next turn.

Empowered Agony. The effects of this Blood Rite last for 1 minute. The creature repeats this saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect early on a success.

RITE OF ANXIETY

As a bonus action, you invoke this Rite and curse a creature you can see within 30 feet, making it susceptible to outside influence. For 1 minute, creatures of your choice who make a Charisma check to influence the target can add one roll of your Sacrament die to the result of their ability check.

Empowered Anxiety. The creature also has disadvantage on the first Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma saving throw it is forced to make before the end of your next turn.

RITE OF BINDING

As a bonus action, you invoke this Rite and force a Large or smaller creature that you can see within 30 feet to make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, its speed is reduced to 0 and it can't use reactions until the end of your next turn.

Empowered Binding. You can target a creature of any size with this Rite, and it lasts for 1 minute. Creatures can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of their turns, ending the effects on a success.

RITE OF BLINDNESS

When a creature that you can see within 30 feet hits another creature you can see with an attack, you can use a reaction to invoke this Rite. The attacker subtracts one roll of your Sacrament die from its attack roll, potentially turning a hit into a miss.

Empowered Blindness. The creature must also subtract one roll of your Sacrament die from every weapon and spell attack roll it makes until the end of that creature's following turn.

RITE OF THE RED GATE

As a reaction, you invoke this Rite when one creature you can see within 30 feet reaches 0 hit points and is knocked unconscious. The creature is stabilized and is teleported to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you as they are enveloped by their own blood.

Empowered Red Gate: The creature is healed by an amount equal to the value of your Sacrament die + your CON modifier, and is teleported to an unoccupied space within 30 feet of you.

RITE OF CLOSED MIND

As a bonus action, you invoke this Rite to curse one creature you can see within 30 feet. You can force a creature to make a Intelligence Saving Throw or fall under the effects of the spell enthrall for 1 minute.

RITE OF KNOWLEDGE

When you learn this Rite you learn two ritual spells of 3rd-level or lower from any spell list. You can only cast them as rituals, and to do so you must perform a Blood Sacrament.

RITE OF SIPHONING

As an action, you can invoke this Rite and force one creature you touch to make a Charisma saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes necrotic damage equal to two rolls of your Sacrament die, and you gain temporary hit points equal to the necrotic damage taken by the creature.

Empowered Siphoning. The necrotic damage from this Rite is treated as the maximum possible amount instead of rolling.

Mental Splitter

Your mind fractures under a new alchemical strain, unlocking strange echoes of power.
You can cast detect thoughts without expending a spell slot. Constitution is your spellcasting ability.

Silken Glands

Strange spinnerets form beneath your nails. It hurts...
You can produce a sticky silk-like substance. As an action, you can cast web (save DC = your Blood Rite Save DC) without expending a spell slot or material components.

Volatile Core

Your body radiates unstable energy.
When you reach 0 HP, you can choose to explode in a burst of volatile chemicals. All creatures within 10 feet of you must make a Dexterity saving throw or take fire, acid, cold, or poison damage equal to a number of Sacrament Die rolls equal to your proficiency bonus. Creatures who succeed take half damage.

Tremor Veins

Your limbs tremble with raw kinetic potential.
When you hit a creature with a melee attack, you can choose to push it 10 feet away in a straight line.

Hollow Bone

Your body becomes lightweight.
Your speed increases by 10 feet.

Furnace Heart

Fire, from the inside.
You are resistant to fire damage. When a creature grapples or hits you with a melee weapon attack, it takes fire damage equal to one roll of your Sacrament Die.
You shed bright light in a 10-foot radius.

Grave Pulse

Prerequisite: 7th-level Blood Hunter
Your heart has stopped beating.
Your creature type becomes Undead. You are immune to the frightened condition and appear dead as if under the effects of feign death.

Adaptive Camouflage

Prerequisite: 7th-level Blood Hunter
Your skin shimmers and breaks, you are hidden.
You have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. If you remain motionless, you are invisible. Taking an action, moving, or making noise reveals flickering streaks of light.

Duplicate Pulse

Prerequisite: 7th-level Blood Hunter
A second heart mutates within your chest.
When you fail a Constitution saving throw, you can choose to succeed instead. Once per long rest. You may perform a Blood Sacrament to use it again before resting.

Frenzied Reflexes

Prerequisite: 7th-level Blood Hunter
Your nervous system accelerates unnaturally.
You can take an additional reaction each round and have advantage on initiative rolls.

Opportunist Mindset

Prerequisite: 7th-level Blood Hunter
Your eyes dart with wild paranoia.
You can take an additional bonus action each round.

Painlace

Prerequisite: 13th-level Blood Hunter
You are invigorated by suffering.
The first time you take damage equal to or greater than your level on a turn, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Constitution modifier. These fade at the end of the turn.

Severed Nerves

Prerequisite: 18th-level Blood Hunter
Sever the brain, silence the pain.
After using a Blood Rite or performing a Blood Sacrament, you gain resistance to all damage until the start of your next turn. During that time, you cannot be healed or gain temporary hit points.

The following mutagens are identical to those found in Lazerllama’s Blood Hunter Rework.

Aberrant Sight

Your eyes become voids of inky darkness.
You gain darkvision out to 60 feet. If you already have darkvision, its range increases by 60 feet. You can see through magical darkness.

Aquatic Adaptation

Your neck sprouts gills or your skin becomes amphibious.
You gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed and can breathe both air and water.

Enhanced Movement

Your legs thicken unnaturally.
You can take the Dash action as a bonus action each turn.

Grappling Appendage

You grow a tentacle-like limb from your back.
It has 10-foot reach, can make unarmed strikes, shove, or grapple. It deals bludgeoning damage equal to one Sacrament Die.
At 13th level, you grow two such appendages.

Knotted Flesh

Your skin becomes barklike and gnarled.
You may use Constitution instead of Dexterity when calculating AC in armor. If unarmored, your AC = 13 + Constitution modifier.

Monstrous Glide

You grow leathery flaps like a bat.
When falling at least 10 feet, you can subtract up to 100 feet from the fall when calculating damage. You can move horizontally 2 feet per 1 foot fallen.

Oozing Form

You become semi-liquid.
As a bonus action, you can morph into an ooze-like state. You can squeeze through 1-inch gaps. You cannot attack while in this form.

Unnatural Physicality

Your frame surges with toxic strength.
Add one Sacrament Die roll to all Strength (Athletics) and Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks.

Acidic Bile

Prerequisite: 7th-level
You learn the acid splash cantrip. Constitution is your spellcasting ability. When dealing damage with it, add your Constitution modifier.

Corrosive Blood

Prerequisite: 7th-level
Your wounds seethe with acid.
When hit by an attack and the attacker is within 30 feet, use your reaction to deal acid damage equal to one Sacrament Die + your Constitution modifier.

Dislocated Reach

Prerequisite: 7th-level
Your arms stretch unnaturally.
Your melee reach increases by 5 feet.

Engorged Physique

Prerequisite: 7th-level
Your body enlarges grotesquely.
You grow by one size (e.g., Medium to Large), your reach increases by 5 feet, and your melee attacks deal extra damage equal to one Sacrament Die.

Inoculated Vigor

Prerequisite: 7th-level
You are immune to acid and poison damage, all diseases, and the poisoned condition.

Viscous Grip

Prerequisite: 7th-level
Your limbs secrete a sticky resin.
You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed and can climb without checks. Creatures have disadvantage on attempts to escape your grapple.

Accelerated Physiology

Prerequisite: 13th-level
You can make three attacks when you take the Attack action.
If you end your turn without having attacked since your previous turn, take necrotic damage equal to one Sacrament Die.